Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerRichard Roper mediates an open forum discussion between the six candidates running for three open Newark school board positions tonight.NEWARK - Under the weight of low test scores, an abysmal graduation rate and a $42 million budget cut, candidates for the city's School Advisory Board took the stage tonight to debate the future of the state’s largest school system.

"We are in a crisis and we have to start acting like we are in a crisis," said candidate Shavar Jeffries, who, along with incumbent Shanique Davis-Speight and Ivan Lamourt, is running for three open school board seats on the "For Our Kids" slate.

School board veteran and longtime community organizer Richard Cammarieri, along with DeNiqua Matias and Alturrick Kenney, form the opposing "Children First" slate, but in tonight’s forum there seemed to be more unity than disagreement.

Budget cuts, accountability and local school control dominated the discussion as candidates addressed a packed crowd at Bethany Baptist Church. Board hopefuls took turns responding to questions from moderator Richard Roper as well as those submitted by audience members.

Candidates, who will be up for election on April 20, first tackled the issue of local control, which Newark has been struggling to regain since the state took over city schools in 1995.

"The difference is one word: advisory," said Cammarieri, referring to the board’s current role, which gives it little legal authority over school governance. "Once the board is returned to local control, then everything is on the table."

Newark’s independence from state oversight depends on its performance on a series of state tests that look at personnel, programs and instruction, operations management, fiscal management and governance.

"In order for Newark to get an elected board back, they need to get governance back," said Kathryn Forsyth, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Education.

Candidates then tackled the budget cuts proposed by Gov. Chris Christie. Some vowed to fight the cuts, but all agreed the last place cuts should be made is in the classroom.

"We have an administrative office that does not provide actual services," said Alturrick Kenney, a former Newark deputy mayor. "If we want to look at making cuts, we may want to start at home first."

One of the biggest differences among the candidates was their view on charter schools. Jeffries, a South Ward native who graduated from Duke and Columbia Law School, is the founding board president of the Team Academy charter schools in Newark and is running on a ticket backed by Robert Treat Academy founder and political boss Stephen Adubato Sr. Jeffries, Speight and Lamourt said charters had a pivotal role to play but were not the final answer to Newark’s ills.

Matias said the main focus should be on district schools and challenged the idea that charter schools are inherently better than district schools.

"Don’t just assume because it has ‘charter’ in the name that your baby is going to Harvard," she said, pointing to Harriet Tubman, Abington and her alma mater, Arts High School, as highly successful Newark district schools.

Candidates also delved into school security, parental involvement, and hiring qualified principals.

Candidates Jaime Gonzalez and Latina Byrd are also on the ballot but were not in attendance.